Smoky Bridge Carter Caves State Park Olive Hill Carter County Kentucky Even with all the rain last week and Saturday I had a feeling the creeks would be dry after two weeks of 90 degree temperatures. With that in mind we decided to spend the day at Carter Caves State Park near I-64 in Olive Hill, Kentucky. If you've not been to the park it's pretty cool. Featuring several cave tours (one that has a 30 ft. waterfall), random caves and 6 natural bridges it really is a very cool playground. Although I've yet to visit two of the six bridges in the park, so far my favorite is Smoky Bridge, the largest natural bridge in the state of Kentucky. When you approach the bridge it is truly an awe inspiring sight, as eons of water runoff from rain events slowly created the massive structure. Unlike many of the state's natural bridges and arches this one is made of limestone. The reason that it is called a "bridge" instead of an "arch" is because it was created by running water, where an arch is created by wind and rain (Sky Bridge in the Red River Gorge being an exception). This is just one of a few images I'll be sharing of this gorgeous bridge over the next couple weeks, and I know one thing, I can't wait to come back in the fall!
Spratt's Arch Daniel Boone National Forest Morgan County Kentucky Back in October 2018 myself and my good friend Chris Morris took a high octane day trip into Menifee County, Kentucky. By "high octane" I mean fast driving, quick hiking, fast shooting and 88 ounces of ALE8 1! We visited 3 arches, 2 I had never been to before. One of these first time arches was Spratt's Arch. I had seen photos of this arch a few times over the last couple years and I was fully on the fence if I even wanted to visit it. However, I recently discovered it was near one of my favorite arches, Devil's Markethouse Arch and with it being so close we decided to visit it after our trek to The Markethouse. Though we went to it in some convoluted manner which involved some scrambling, climbing, and crossing 1/1 slopes it was still a fun trek and the reward was far cooler than I would have ever thought. Simply put, this hole in the rock was pretty photogenic. Mother nature was not making it easy on us either, as we fought some drizzle and blustery winds passing through the arch which had the foliage whipping around like crazy. I'll definitely say this, I'll be back to visit this one. Though not the most beautiful arch I've seen, I'd like to see it in all 4 seasons!
Star Gap Arch Red River Gorge Geological Area Daniel Boone National Forest Powell County Kentucky In December of 2015 I returned to an arch that I had no plan going to the base of. I had been to Star Gap Arch near the trail to Double Arch several years ago, I had every intention of seeing it from below but a steep short scramble stopped me from making the decent so I just enjoyed the view on top of the arch while everyone shot it below. It's amazing how one can change. Standing there staring at the same scramble from years ago I told Chris to go on ahead. I will wait for him. Even after some coaxing I stayed my ground and decided to just wait so on to the arch he went. I sat there and stared at it. For those who don't know I'm afraid of heights and I'm not the most coordinated fella, but since I began taking photography seriously I've been pushing myself beyond my fear. After a few minutes weighing it out I said to myself, "to hell with it" and slid on down the face. Before I continued on, I turned around and made the scramble back up, a little awkwardly but I did it. Satisfied I slid back down and headed on to the arch. With a cheer and some claps from Chris I joined him on the far side of the arch, set up and began shooting. I don't care what arch it is, finding the right perspective to shoot one is pretty difficult and this one no different. I finally settled on the trail approach side, there was so much more happening on this side and the rock here was really cool. It felt pretty good making my way down to see this one as once again I faced my fear and conquered it. I know one thing, I'm sure looking forward to returning in the future.
